Newcastle United could reignite their interest in Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike if Alexander Isak departs this summer.
Outlet FootballTransfers has reported that the young forward is back on the agenda for the Magpies.
Newcastle came close to signing Ekitike during his time at Stade Reims, but the deal fell through, and he opted to join Paris Saint-Germain instead. Now, with Isak attracting serious interest from top clubs, Newcastle may finally make their move for the 22-year-old.
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Isak has been heavily linked with Arsenal, as Mikel Arteta looks to bring in a new centre-forward, while Barcelona, Chelsea, and Liverpool are also reportedly keeping tabs on the Sweden international. If Newcastle are forced to sell, Ekitike is seen as the ideal replacement, it is reported.
Since making his move to Frankfurt permanent for €16.5m last summer, Ekitike has impressed, scoring 17 goals and providing six assists in 32 appearances across all competitions.
Eddie Howe claims that Newcastle will keep Alexander Isak at all costs
Despite the growing speculation, Newcastle are determined to keep Isak for at least another season. Speaking ahead of their match against Manchester City, Eddie Howe made it clear just how highly he values his star striker.
“I love working with Alex and I wouldn’t swap him for anyone,” the Newcastle boss admitted. “We’ve tried to help him by moulding our style of play to suit his game. I really respect Erling [Haaland] and what he’s done in his career is unbelievable, but we really love Alex.
“I don’t think you can compare Alex to anyone,” Howe added. “Alex is very, very different to any other striker I’ve seen or worked with.
“He does things that aren’t like your traditional centre-forward. He’s almost a winger combined into a striker’s mentality because his footwork and dribbling ability is so good.
“That’s almost winger-like and then you put him into the middle of the pitch and, with his pace and technical ability and exceptional finishing, he’s sort of got the whole package linked into one. He’s very unique and I’d encourage him to stay that way.”
